Tag Archives: Dharavi

Even before I knew it was definitely going to happen, I couldn’t resist spilling to everyone who’d listen that I might be moving to Mumbai. Something had been niggling away in my mind for years telling me to make this sort of leap, but why leave so many friends and family behind? Why move hundreds of miles from home and press the reset button after three years of settling in London? I’ve known people who’ve waited, saved up and travelled around India for a couple of months rather than move permanently, and they loved it! Wouldn’t that have been safer? Continue reading Leaping To Mumbai→

In the middle of this month we welcomed Jessica Conway to Dharavi, where she will be working closely with our Educational Programs Director, Jonny Clarke, on our English Teacher Training program. This three week course, started on the 25th April and aims to prepare teachers to deliver our English curriculum to people living and working in Dharavi.

Having ended 2015 with the release of our Annual Report, looking back on a year where we extended our reach to have positively impacted the lives of over 6,000 people in the communities we serve in Dharavi, January now feels a fitting time to look ahead.

We caught up with a whole host of staff and beneficiaries and asked them all one thing, ‘what are your hopes and dreams for 2016?’.

When I left Paris a few months back, I only had a vague idea of what Dharavi would look like. I imagined a very dense area where thousands, millions of people lived in precarious accommodation. I thought that the streets would all be dodgy alleyways leading from one home to another. Even though I knew I was going to work in one of the biggest slum in Asia, I had no idea how big it really was. And I didn’t want to learn too much about it before going: I wanted my clichés to be shattered by experience. Continue reading Why I Quit My Job As A Fashion Journalist To Volunteer In A Slum→

Last Monday schools across the country opened their doors and welcomed back students from their summer holidays. Over at Royal City School, it was no different.

With four new teachers joining the staff (more on them later), there was a palpable sense of expectation and excitement in the air at the school. We were struck by the (what must be universal) nostalgia about the promise of a new, unblemished textbook, a brand new pencil case filled with brand new stationary, and a rucksack bigger than the child wearing it. A great reminder of the common humanity we all share.